A sex abuse survivor says Edwards winning would have been "catastrophic" and calls for rules review.

A prominent actress and survivor of child sexual abuse has criticised disgraced newsreader Huw Edwards for competing at this year's National Eisteddfod, claiming that, had he won, it would have been "catastrophic". In 2024, Edwards admitted to accessing 41 images of children, including seven of the most serious type, and was given a six-month sentence, suspended for two years. Edwards said the poem he submitted was a tribute to his father, intended to correct a "poisonous narrative", and was not for "sickeningly self-righteous Welsh speakers". The National Eisteddfod, Wales' biggest cultural festival, said its process meant "nobody, including the judges, know beforehand who has competed". Those taking part in the Eisteddfod's poetry competition do so under a pseudonym, with entrants' real details kept in a sealed envelope and winners' identities only revealed when announced. On Sunday, Edwards published a post on his Substack blog stating he had "attempted to write a poem" for the first time in his life, having "drawn inspiration" from the National Eisteddfod. BBC-produced Newyddion S4C has received confirmation that Edwards' poem, written under the pseudonym "Y Gelyn" (The Enemy), had been officially entered. Actress Sera Cracroft, best-known for her role in long-running Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm, has previously spoken publicly about her experience of suffering child sex abuse.